thats not all aluminum.
IMO i would not go near Spectra with a 10 foot pole. i have had dozens of products from them from air filter boxes, to intakes, coolers, and so on. they ALL SUCK and either came apart, failed, or just imply did not work or had bad fitment.

bottom line, NO there are no other options in all aluminum for non Chinese stuff, IMO its actually fairly nice stuff for the price. Its that or your typical napa/autozone stores or rock auto. Nothing is actually wrong with plastic, its cheap, it lasts, there is no better cooling over all metal.... Just saying...

2 row is a downgrade as well, all the decent stuff including the OEM is 3 row, with a 4 row being the upgrade.

 

What does a custom fabricated all metal radiator cost? It’s gotta be into 4 figures these days.

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 196K miles

 

i had a 30x10x4 inch intercooler custom made for me by a local speed shop, including materials, $360 bucks and had it done in about 4 hours.
Metal Fabrication and Fireball tools both have a great videos oh why its cheap and better to DIY one with a $4,000 fixture table and 10 grand in welding gear.
these radiators cost $200 to $300 because thats what the market can handle from a container ship from china. want to get some HIGH quality Stuff, go to Thailand

it seems that no one here but a few select actually have a clue about good ways to do things and why.
4 figures for a radiator... oh you!

 

There are 3+ custom makers, that pop up on Google. I think Griffin is one that will make it to any specs. Custom Aluminum is $600-1800. My plastic one lasted over 10 years and ran cool never any problem. I could by a lot of them for that kind of money. Spectrum is owned by Turnspire Capital Partners a private equity firm out of NY. Not sure about this particular group but I've seen others VC outfits MO is acquire, siphon assets, borrow $ then declare bankruptcy. (think Sears). They still manufacture radiators in Canada.

 

Avoid spectra, they will not stand behind their warranty, they are scum.
I bought an aluminum one from ebay years ago, has been great, now everyone has them, my plastic tank had cracked too.

 

Radiator shops here closed up, only one left, he said supply dried them all up during covid, now its difficult for them to get the cores for repairing the stock copper radiators from vehicles, add in the flood of cheap aluminum units.

 

Stark contrast to the '70s when I worked in a factory as a punch press operator making refrigeration units. Most were aluminum but a good number of copper which were for government contracts, always spec'd copper. Then it was stupid cheap compared to today.

@maples01 Do you recall which rad you bought?

 

There are so many now, 3 or 4 row, mine is a 2 row, but the cores are larger than the traditional ones moving more coolant, don't see it, I got an extended E350 with the 5.4, never once did it run hot, well not until the stupid heater line blew off, better check yours, they are held on with plastic clips to the front heater core, a 3 row should be more than enough. Copper is repairable, aluminum is pretty much disposable, but can be made with larger cores than the traditional copper.

 

100% spot on. but the price to even FIND a copper radiator let alone getting one that will fit, is going to be a few grand at least unless you are doing the work yourself. Its not about over heating now, its on that stuck in traffic at a 110*F day or worse, same hot day but hauling up a hill for 30 miles stuck in a semi trucks draft wind.
Spectra is absolute trash, they do have some nice stuff here and there and my experience on the 1st 2 calls and emails have been good but when it matters, you will and i have been left hung out to dry EVERY time if its a problem with there stuff. They shut down there primary location... PERMANENTLY closed, they downsized 50% of there company due to financial BS corporate BS. they blamed it on covid. They have a larger facility they moved into but word is its a ghost town there.

 

I bought an autozone specre radiator for my 73 E100, ran hot, I started counting cores, it had less cores than what it replaced, I called them on it, complained, they asked about the orange sticker that was on the fins, demanded to see it, well it came off, so I was told without that stuck to the radiator, it was no longer warrantied, good bye and he hung up, that is not how you do bussness, tell someone a paper decal in front of a fan is required or they don't have to talk to you. Took years to find the right radiator, finally got it, was going to have it re-cored, $400, some bimbo ran a light and destroyed that van, the guy who bought it for parts, I gave him that radiator and told him, this is rare, may as well be made of gold, so don't lose it, many friends on facebook wanted to know what I did with it, was custom created to miss the power brake master cylinder which mounts 90 degrees on the mid ford Econoline, ford reserved those for the vans with ac, you had to force them to put them on the others, they didn't care running a 6 cylinder radiator on a v8 wasn't big enough.
I hate plastic tank radiators, every car my parents bought with one, warranty coolant change included a new radiator because the drain broke off when they tried to use it.

 

380k 23 years on the OEM plastic radiator ford escape before it got a crack in it from age
280K on a plastic radiator on the 955 cayenne
my Jetta TDI had almost 400k on it when i scrapped it with the OEM radiator that was plastic
the one in my e350 has 280K on the clock, no issues
i have had nothing but high mileage cars and trucks and all the them have plastic radiators.
IMO if you go with plastic, motor craft is the only way to go or any OEM
its hard to get all aluminum on really any car still out there.
FWW you have a plastic coolant tank, and most cars and trucks are littered with plastic parts for the coolant, so going to just an aluminum only radiator is pointless other than for 4 row replacement or custom work you need.
Get a radiator guard as well if you go with something $$

 

All the radiators I buy come with a lifetime warranty
I agree with the robustness of the factory ones with plastic side tanks (except BMW)_
The ones I replace are usually around 15 to 20 years old before the factory side tanks crack (Except BMW)
I got one last week from 1800 Radiator for 158 bucks where Autozone wanted 290
Both were lifetime warranty radiators
Neither will last even 10 years IMO
I tell my customers that and let them make the decision on parts
Most opt for the cheaper part with the better warranty
The factory radiators (if available) have no lifetime warranty (if purchased over the parts counter at the dealer) (and cost over 600 bucks)

 

warranties on a lot of things like radiator and what not are for manufacturing defects only usually, a LOT of life time are actually limited life time against defect, not.... it will hold up to 10 years of use. SOME DO, most don't.
OEM from the dealers sure do absolutely come with one. at least all i have gotten. im an amateur mechanic but im not slouch. i dont order and deal with thousands of parts like some of you to say otherwise, but in my experience there is a MASSIVE quality difference from aftermarket crap to OEM stuff, at least in VAG, (mostly Porsche) and ford (past 2004)

 

Only, OEM/Motorcraft for this '99 E350 V10, XLT Superduty, shows "discontinued". I can't find any NOS out there anywhere either.

There's a 1800 Radiator store few miles from me with typical plastic, 2-core for $208 out the door.
O'Reilly has Murray Heat Transfer rad, which other than the name, seems the same for $356. Man, it's like trying to decide on which brand toilet paper to buy in the supermarket!

 

exactly, this is why i just went with an all aluminum aftermarket that i know i can weld and repair myself.
There are no good choices over the next.
you can still get the OEM from the dealer for 2x the cost!